# Red Shirley

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***Red Shirley*** is a short documentary film directed by [Lou Reed](/source/Lou_Reed).[1][2] It tells the story of his cousin, Shirley Novick, living through World War I, fleeing Poland before World War II, and taking part in the [March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom](/source/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom). The film was shot by photographer [Ralph Gibson](/source/Ralph_Gibson),[2] and the soundtrack was recorded by [Metal Machine Trio](/source/Metal_Machine_Trio).[3]

In 2011, Reed said there was a "great impetus" to create the film *Red Shirley*, given that a lot of information would be lost if he didn't.[4] The film's world première was at the 2010 Visions du Réel festival in Nyon, Switzerland,[3] before appearing in New York at the Jewish Film Festival.[5] The trailer for the documentary featured a collection of photographs and a conversation between Reed and his cousin Novick. Novick's nickname is "Red Shirley", hence the title of the film.[3] This was Lou Reed's final film before his death in 2013.

## Summary

Lou Reed interviews his cousin, Shirley Novick, on the eve of her 100th birthday.[6] Novick recalls growing up in a small village in Poland during [World War I](/source/World_War_I); fleeing to the United States by way of Canada before [World War II](/source/World_War_II) and losing her parents to the [Nazis](/source/Nazism); toiling for 47 years in New York City's [garment district](/source/Garment_District,_Manhattan), where she became a labor activist; reuniting with her sisters, who had emigrated to Palestine; and taking part in the [March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom](/source/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom) in 1963.[7]

## Critical reception

Premiering in Switzerland in 2010, *Red Shirley* was screened at film festivals around the world, including the 20th annual [New York Jewish Film Festival](/source/New_York_Jewish_Film_Festival) and the 2011 [Sundance Film Festival](/source/Sundance_Film_Festival), where it was well received. Sean Michaels of [the *Guardian*](/source/The_Guardian) described it as an "affectionate and moving portrait."[3] Kurt Brokaw of *the Independent* magazine called it "a work both endearing and enduring."[8] Dave Robson of *Sound on Sight* wrote, "These are the sorts of films that future historians will thank us for."[9] The film will be included in the [Jewish Museum's](/source/Jewish_Museum_(Manhattan)) film collection.[8]

## See also

- [Paul Novick](/source/Paul_Novick)
- [American Jewish community and the Civil Rights Movement](/source/Civil_rights_movement#American_Jewish_community_and_the_civil_rights_movement)

## References

1. Paula Bernstein. ["Watch Lou Reed's Short Film *Red Shirley*"](http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-lou-reeds-short-film-red-shirley). *[Indiewire](/source/Indiewire)*. Retrieved 12 November 2014.

1. Brandon Kim (January 2011). ["Lou Reed's Directorial Debut, *Red Shirley*"](http://www.ifc.com/fix/2011/01/lou-reeds-directorial-debut-re). IFC.

1. Michaels, Sean (2010-03-31). ["Lou Reed to premiere debut as film director"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/31/lou-reed-premiere-debut-film). *The Guardian*

1. Matt Patches (2013-10-28). ["Watch Lou Reed's Directorial Debut, the Holocaust Documentary 'Red Shirley' (Video)"](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/watch-lou-reeds-directorial-debut-651195). *The Hollywood Reporter*

1. Dominic Gover (2013-10-30). ["Lou Reed's Posthumous Holocaust Documentary Red Shirley Available to Stream"](http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/lou-reed-film-red-shirley-watch-novick-518309). *International Business Times*

1. ["Red Shirley Film Premiere"](http://www.loureed.com/news/red-shirley-film-premiere/). *loureed.com*

1. Rapold, Nicolas (2011-01-11), ["Lou Reed's 101-Year-Old Story"](https://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703779704576073833077211692), *The Wall Street Journal*

1. Brokaw, Kurt (2011-01-19). ["Leader of Red Sheep"](http://independent-magazine.org/2011/01/lou_reed_red_shirley_ralph_gibson_new_york_jewish_film_festival/). *The Independent*

1. Robson, Dave (2011-05-09). ["TJFF: Ingelore and Red Shirley"](http://www.soundonsight.org/tjff-ingelore-red-shirley/). *Sound on Sight*

## External links

- [Watch *Red Shirley* Full Movie on Snagfilms.com](https://archive.today/20141019201410/http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/red_shirley)
- [Red Shirley](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1628045/) at IMDb
- ["Good Evening Mr. Waldheim" lyrics](http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858646025/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Red Shirley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Shirley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Shirley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.